Product Description

In her book, A Woman Who Trusts God, Debbie Alsdorf speaks to women who have difficulty trusting God in the midst of difficult situations. When prayers are unanswered and dreams are on hold, rejoicing is not what comes naturally. Using the book of Philippians, Debbie encourages women to lean on God, live one day at a time, and live in the moment. By following this advice, you can find the peace you long for.

Product Information

Format: DRM Protected ePubVendor: RevellPublication Date: 2011

ISBN: 9781441234193ISBN-13: 9781441234193

Publisher's Description

Our lives are filled with in-between times, those times when we are not quite where we would like to be (or where we thought we'd be). Dreams are on hold, prayers seem unanswered, and life can feel hard. And just when we think we have it all together, life happens again! During these times it can be difficult to see God in our situations and trust him with the future.

With empathy and wit, Debbie Alsdorf uses the book of Philippians to encourage women to lean on God, to live one day at a time, to rejoice and not to worry, and to give thanks to God in all circumstances of life. The confidence and peace readers will gain from the perspective presented in this loving book will help them live fully in the moment, in every season of life.

Author Bio

Debbie Alsdorf is the author of Deeper, A Different Kind of Wild, and The Faith Dare. She is founder of the popular Design4Living Conferences and speaks with Hearts at Home. She is a member of the American Association of Christian Counselors and is director of women's ministries at Cornerstone Fellowship, where her Bible study is attended by hundreds of women every week. Alsdorf lives in California.

ChristianBookPreviews.com

The uncomfortable space between a "problem recognized" and its "solution realized" is what author Debbie Alsdorf calls in her book, A Woman Who Trusts God, the "meantime." From the daily annoyances that grate on our nerves to the kind of adversity that leaves us breathless, life is full of difficulties and many of them do not come with easy solutions.

Whether our meantime lasts a day, a month, or a year, Alsdorf reminds us of what is easy to forget under pressure: God is faithful. She is committed to teaching us how to deal effectively with hardships and not allow them to blur our focus, weaken our faith, or rob us of the joy God intended for us. Captivated by Gods promise of a "peace that passes all human comprehension" (Phil. 4:7), even in the midst of our trouble, Alsdorf takes her readers on a step-by-step journey through Paul's epistle to the church in Philippi. As an author, counselor, and director of women's ministries for more than 25 years, Alsdorf comes well qualified to present the book of Philippians clearly, while providing her readers the opportunity to make God's truths their own. The study guide and discussion questions she supplies see to that.

Alsdorf has learned firsthand that a deeper walk with Christ not only strengthens us, but offers us hope when all seems lost. Scripture provides the solid foundation we need when the rug is pulled out, and as we learn to cultivate the discipline of walking in biblical truth we are able to prepare ourselves for the challenges ahead.

One of the strengths of Alsdorf's book is its reminder not to waste our meantime or wish it away too quickly. God's desire is to teach us a thing or two as He walks us through the fire. Alsdorf's balanced use of Scripture, personal illustrations, and practical applications make A Woman Who Trusts God a useful tool for the woman who is looking to do just that. Ann Sullivan, www.ChristianBookPreviews.com

Last month I decided to read through some of the devotional books on my shelves this year, rather than running out to buy more. In January {and spilling over a couple of days into February}, I read The Faith Dare by Debbie Alsdorf, and my review of that is here. It just so happened that the next book on my shelf ready for reading was also by Debbie Alsdorf, and this one is called A Woman Who Trusts God {published in 2011 by Revell}.

It is SO appropriate for this season I'm in.

This book is different from the last one of Debbie's I read, in that it's not a 30 day study. But it does have twenty-three chapters, so if you read about a chapter a day, it will take you almost a month to get through it. Again, Debbie's careful mix of Scripture and personal story made this book easy to read and yet a good springboard to getting into the Word itself. Her focus was on "the meantime." We're probably all living in a meantime of some kind: waiting on God to bring an answer, living in the uncertainty of tomorrow, working through changes in our hearts and bodies. They're all meantimes.

Debbie is not the least bit judgmental toward those struggling through the meantime, but rather she offers compassion and practical ideas for how to do more than just pass the time in the meantime. She encourages us to understand God is actually very busy in all our meantimes, working in us, working in our situations {even when we can't see what He's doing} and we can actually do some of our best growing and maturing in this time!

As with the first book, I did some serious underlining as I read and studied this one. A few lines:

"The worst part of the meantime is that in the long stretch of middle space we can be easily tempted to live only to make the pain go away." - page 49

"Do not obsess over knowing the plan. Instead, we must trust without knowing the end result or how God will use this situation to further our growth." - page 56 {GULP!!!!!}

"It's quite possible that God will use a poor choice on someone else's part to redirect us into His fuller plan for our life." - page 62

"Her trust life is kind of like tithing: God gets 10 percent, and she takes care of the rest." - page 159

Many more gems like that one are sprinkled throughout the pages - and some helpful places of study guide and Scripture reference are included at the end!

If you're in a meantime of any kind, especially one that threatens to derail you {or perhaps already has!}, I would suggest this book. It won't fix your problems, but it will guide you to look deeper into your life to see what God might be trying to teach you THROUGH them!